Lumber-drying apparatus.



A. S. NICHOLS.

LUMBER DRYING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 5. I9I4. 1,140,762. Patented May 25, 1915.

1HE MORRIS PETERS C0.. PHOTC-LITHO., WASHINGTON. D. C.

A. S. NICHOLS.

LUMBER DRYING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 5. 1914.

1,140,762. Patented May 25, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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THE 'NORRIS PETERS O0., PHOmLITHO.. WASHINGTON, a c.

LUMBEBfDRYING- APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 25, 1915.

Application led. February 5, 1914. Serial No. 816,673.

ratus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in lumber drying apparatus.

The object of the invention is to provide a drying apparatus for lumber so arranged that the ventilation of the drying room or rooms may be positively controlled and regulated and more particularly to` provide an arrangement whereby all the air ventilating outlets discharge the outgoing air into a single stack or flue, thus insuring an outward uniform flow of air through the ventilating outlets.

The invention furthermore consists in the improvements in the parts and devices and in the novel combinations of the parts and devices herein shown, described or claimed.

Hitherto, it has been the general practice to provide each ventilating outlet of a lumber drier with a separate and independent stack or flue to conduct the air to the atmosphere and it has always been assumed that the air from the drying room or rooms is drawn or sucked out through all of such ventilating outlets and stacks. However, by a series of experiments extending over a considerable period of time I have determined that not only do some of the ventilating out,

lets and flues fail to have a partial Vacuum created therein and draw air outwardly therethrough but in some of such outlets and flues the pressure is increased and air is actually` forced therethrough into the drying room or rooms. In other words,while some of the ventilating outlets and separate flues are performing their function in some parts of the drying room, others fail to perform their proper function with the result that the ventilation cannot be controlled and some parts of the lumber are dried more than other parts and atvarying rates.

I have discovered and herein my invention consists that by conducting the air from all the ventilating outlets to a single stack or flue, that the difficulties and disadvantages hereinbefore mentioned may be overcome and the ventilation of the drying room or rooms absolutely controlled. Other advan tages result from this new arrangement,

among which may be mentioned cheaper cost of installation inasmuch as a single iue is made to take the place of the large number of flues hitherto thought necessary which, in cases where the flue or iiues must be extended to a relatively great height to secure the proper draft, greatly decreases the cost.

In the drawing forming a part of this specification, I have shown one arrangement of drying apparatus embodying my improvements and in said drawing, Figure 1 is a top plan view of a drier showing my improvements'in connection therewith, the stack or flue being shown in section. Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a similar section but at right angles thereto taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. l. Fig. L1 is a View similar to Fig. 2 showing a slightly different arrangement of the pipes forming communication with the stack.

In said drawing, the building is shown as constructed of concrete or other suitable material and is provided with two drying rooms A A and an inclined roof B. It will, however, be manifest that any number of drying rooms may be provided in a single building. The front and rear walls of each room are provided with doors .10, 10 through which the lumber may be taken in and out of the rooms. Said walls are also provided with a plurality of air inlets, the same comprising openings 11 on the outer'sides of the walls and about half-way up thereon, and inlet openings 12 on the inner sides of the walls near the ceiling, said openings being connected by a vertically extending flue 13. In the side walls of the drying rooms are located a plurality of ventilating outlets 141, 14, the same comprising openings located near the floor line of the room and which communicate with or lead into vertically arranged flues 15 constructed in the walls. As shown most clearly in Figs. 1 and 3, the ventilating outlets in the partition or wall 16 between the two rooms are alternately arranged, two outlets leading from one room and two from the other. Each set of fines 15 in each wall communicate with a hood 17, see Fig. 3, there being three of said hoods extending parallelly with the walls of the room and located over the tops of the flues 15. The inner hood 17 communicates directly with a 'large flue or stack 18 which is adapted to carry off all the air to the atmosphere and is of such height as to create the proper draft, said flue or stack having on.its upper.

end a cupola 19. The outside hoods 17 communicate with said flue or stack lby means of pipes 20, 20, the same in'tonthe stack 18 at a considerable heightsabovenithe center hood 17 as shown in full lines Fig. 2,

this .arrangement .beaspnecessarywhere aroom or space'is needed abovethe drying rooms in the building. Whninoisuchf'rodins or space are required `above the Vdryin womefhe commeinnerennebeside hoods 17l tothe stackllSfmafy be located as indicateda't 21 in Fig. 4'. Ai vthicxkfstock fis being dried,y only slifglit y movement Iolf I"air is, necessaryfwhereas when thin stoolsisbeingxv dried',` affrapid movement of the airis ydesired and'toiprovid rfr ,this regimi@ @www damp'er's 22,22 @reanimeren rwefihe vnff-laiin'g @ua-,eis'sardinasbei@ justable by means ofhand-perating "With the arranseillft "'f the ,Ventilating outlets which I fshave'shdyvn'anddescribed, Ihv@ found @armenews ofthe drier is inuch greater than driers hithert'oncom- 11101115' uedfhd. vheltseieat@ ifese'r stacks "are lijro'vidrled'V 'for' of the' 'v-,ntetns @atlete alths'iritreasd t@im .lfe1'1ey isiipfocufed with ,managerial :thier is cheaper "than those hithertdusd', and furthermore the ventilation may lbe accurately controlled.

'-Althiish l .have herein ,Shown de.- scrbed'-yvl1at` I 'now jconsi der`, the lpreferred embdiment'pof my improvemerlts, lyetfift will @rendesse ihn-news; chess'. and modifications may be made" without departing from? the "Spirit f ,the invn'tpaiand vall such c'hang'es1and fino'dicaftibns "arie contemplated' asteroide new ihes'c'peb'f ,the claims appended hereto. Iclairnri I v y., ,v

1- A' lmbler drying apparatus Comprising a drying room having an yair inlet' ventilating means, 'ai lpli`ifra-lityy of ,air 1yent'i'lating ontlets fatfthe sidesof ysaid ,room anv substantial distance .beneathy 1tops fcfy said sides, flues eigt'en'ding'upwardly th'e walls thereof, a stack, conduitcoinlnufnicating l USL.

at i

gehts eaeh, by

with all of said outlets and .to said stack whereby to prevent any of said outlets actingas air inlets. "QA lumber drying apparatus compris- 111g a, drying room provided with an air .inlet Ventilating means, a plurality of air Yventilating outlets located at the side of a lroom and spaced well below the ceiling, and astack4 connected to all of said outlets by independent flues extending upwardly of the walls of said room.

U3/A lumber drying apparatus comprising. a drying room having an air .inlet ventilating Vmeans' anda plurality vof air vent'ilatingnoutlets nearfthe floor thereof, nues eXten'di.ng"iupwardlyl of the walls thereof, a hood into which said flues open and dischargeythe air, a stack, a passageway from said flut said stack l'whereby to prevent any of said outlets acting as air inlets, and

for controlling the outlets individually. j

4. 'A lumber drying apparatus comprising a drying roomhaving an air inlet ventilating means anda plurality of air ventilating Loutlets near the ffloor thereof, iiues extending upwardly of the walls thereof, a hood finto which said flues open and discharge the air,a stack, a passageway from said flue `to said stackwherebyto"prevent any of said 'outlets acting as air inlets, and means for controlling lthe outlets individually'and collectively.

"5.A`lumber drying apparatus comprising a plurality of' drying rooms each haviiigair inlets' and a plurality of air ventilating outlets near the bottom of the ver- .tic'al walls'thereof,a stack, hoods at the top ofsaid vertical fwalls with which said outlets' communicate, a passageway from each hood to said stack, each of said hoodsservingto prevent any of the outlets connected toit from acting as inlets.

.Signed this 13 day of January,191l, in`

the presence of two witnesses.

AARON sAWYnR N IcnoLs'.

Witnesses:

H. DETTLING,

WIgIlLIAM R. CoNDoN.

addressing lche Commissioner of Patents, l 

